


if i wanna battle, i pick my war

by cori_the_bloody



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 17:58:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6715405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cori_the_bloody/pseuds/cori_the_bloody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy confronts Faith about switching sides. Except, she doesn't really plan what she's going to say, and things get messy. <br/>(Set during 3.17 - Enemies - and written for the prompt "a kiss that shouldn't have happened")</p>
            </blockquote>





	if i wanna battle, i pick my war

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** I do not own these characters or this world, I simply enjoy playing with them.  
>  **Author’s Note:** No, this is not the kiss every fuffy shipper yearns for, but I hope you enjoy this nonetheless.  
>  The story is unbeta'd, so please excuse any spelling errors.

Buffy knows she should follow Will’s advice -- track down Angel so they can talk their feelings out sensibly.

Thing is, she’s not feeling very sensible at the moment. Their whole double-play deal has her mind tospy-turvier than a carnival ride, which is why she finds herself at the door to Faith’s motel room without ever making the conscious choice to go there.

At least that’s what she tells herself.

She lingers -- her hand poised and ready to knock -- for a few conflicted seconds, trying to puzzle out what she’s going say.

Faith flings open the door before Buffy comes up with anything that wouldn’t immediately result in a punch-off. 

She’s dressed in the same collared shirt from earlier, except now a few additional buttons are undone, and Buffy’s eyes are immediately drawn to the newly exposed skin before she realizes what she’s ogling.

She jerks her gaze up.

Faith’s smirking at her, surprised and amused. “See something you like, B?”

She clears her throat and fixes Faith with one of her most commanding glares. “Going somewhere?”

“Sure am. Why, is there a problem? Thought we already did our chores for the day.”

“We did. This, uh, isn’t demon related,” Buffy says.

Faith crosses her arms. “Must be important then. Shouldn’t you be in the hallowed halls of Sunnydale High, soaking up bullshit or knowledge or whatever?”

Buffy snorts, despite herself, and Faith’s smug look softens just a bit in response. They smile tentatively at each other, and it makes Buffy’s palms itch.

“Could I come in?” she asks.

Faith frowns and grabs for Buffy’s hand. Her heart jumps in her chest and she has to force herself to not yank away in surprise. 

After checking the watch on Buffy’s wrist -- her cool fingers leaving trails of heat on Buffy’s skin -- Faith shrugs. “Got a couple minutes, I guess. Better make it quick, though.”

She lets the door fall open and flops down on the edge of her bed. 

Buffy wanders inside, letting the door latch shut behind her, and starts pacing in front of the television.

“Was I unclear about the quick part?” Faith asks after Buffy stays silent for several seconds, her eyes trained on her feet.

“Right,” Buffy says, shaking her head vigorously. As if that’ll get her thoughts to fall into order. “Sorry. I, uh--”

Faith inserts herself in Buffy’s path. “Look, I got an appointment to make. Just spit it out, whatever it is.”

Buffy winces apologetically, scanning Faith’s face. The composure there kinda amazes her. How is she able to grin so disarmingly while keeping so many secrets? Why isn’t it eating her up, making her scatterbrained and impulsive?

“I just...”

She really doesn’t know what to say. _It bums me out that you’re in the process of betraying me and everyone I care most about_ , isn’t exactly an option.

_Remember that time we went slaying and dancing during school? That was fun and the_ good _kind of confusing - let’s go back to that_ , sounds too desperate.

_I killed a guy once, too. I mean, he turned out to be a sexist, woman-murdering robot, but, hey, I still relate to what you’re going through_ , also doesn’t make the cut.

Maybe words are the problem altogether. Maybe it’s time for a different approach...

Faith cocks her head and raises her eyebrows, a sly gleam in her eyes.

That look makes her decision for her. Buffy turns off all her thoughts, steps into Faith’s personal space, and then kisses her with all the passion and greediness and yearning she never allows herself to unleash in these kinds of situations, catching them both off guard.

It shocks her how quick Faith is to respond. After she huffs with surprise and takes a moment to catch herself before they both end up in a heap on the ground, she’s wrapping her arms all the way around Buffy’s waist and pulling them flush together. Her tongue traces the inside of Buffy’s lower lip and they both let out ferocious groans.

Buffy threads her fingers into Faith’s hair and tugs at the roots. She angles her head into the kiss and bows backward so their hips align, which sends a tingly jolt of _want_ all through her body.

She curses the long, clunky dress she’s wearing when she trips over her own feet as Faith leads them to the bed, appointment apparently forgotten. Buffy stumbles and falls on top of Faith, jabbing her knee into the other girl’s kidney.

Faith grunts but hardly seems bothered, tugging them further up onto mattress and deftly flipping their position. “Always figured you’d be savage in the sack...like a little pain with your pleasure.”

Buffy’s nose crinkles and she grins sheepishly. “You’ve thought about what I’d be like in bed?”

Faith’s cheeks turn pink and her eyes go wide when she realizes what she just owned up to.

“Oh, fuck off,” she laughs as Buffy waggles her eyebrows. “Obviously your mind hasn’t been far behind...who kissed who just now?”

Buffy bites her lip, effectively put in her place.

“That’s what I thought,” Faith says, giving Buffy a toe-curlingly, stomach-flippingly hungry grin before leaning back in.

It doesn’t take long for their kisses to become heated again. Within seconds, Faith’s rolling her hips down into Buffy’s and Buffy’s sucking and nipping at the tendons in Faith’s neck.

“Fuck, B. Angel has no clue what he’s missin’.”

At the mention of her boyfriend, Buffy comes crashing back to reality. She tenses up and pushes Faith off her, sliding off the bed and bolting for the door.

“Gee, was it something I said?” Faith asks. Buffy can tell she’s trying to be flippant and unbothered, but she doesn’t quite keep the hurt from her voice.

“I’m sorry,” Buffy says, pausing with her hand on the doorknob. “That...I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t-” she breaks off with a gulp. “We know you’re working for the Mayor.”

Faith is silent for a long time. Buffy turns around to find her staring at her hands, slumped on the edge of the bed.

She doesn’t know what, exactly, but it counts for _something_ that Faith doesn’t try to deny it.

The right words finally come to her. Too late to be sure...she’ll have to tell Angel what she’s done. But maybe it’ll have been worth it.

It all depends on what happens next.

“So now you have a choice,” Buffy says, tilting her chin up and straightening her spine. “Clearly I...I care about you, Faith. I want to help you understand whatever it is that you’re feeling. But I refuse to hold your hand and drag you back into fighting the good fight. You have to make the decision on your own. If you choose to stand with me, I can’t promise you everyone’s gonna happily welcome you back or that it’ll be easy. But if you choose to stand with him...well, then I can promise I will destroy you both.”

Buffy’s last words linger between them for a tense minute before Faith nods.

“Good then,” Buffy gulps. “Once you make your decision, you know where to find me.”

She turns on her heel and steps out into the sunny day. Before she lets the door swing shut, though, she steals one last glance at Faith.

She’s staring straight ahead, looking younger than Buffy ever thought possible, and pressing two fingertips reverently against her lips.

As the door closes with a soft _thunk_ , Buffy allows herself to hope for the best.


End file.
